The Bench Decision

≈ 6 min

Read the monologue below. Identify (a) the cognitive distortion it shows — or whether there is no distortion at all — and (b) the exact phrase that signals your answer. This is a puzzle, not a diagnosis or advice; the speaker is a fictional, invented character.

The scene

A changing room after a youth football coach tells a player they will sit out the next match due to a recurring ankle problem.

In the differential

Catastrophising
Fortune-telling
Personalisation
All-or-nothing thinking
Overgeneralisation
No distortion — a reasonable reaction

Play today’s Distortion.

This case first aired on August 10, 2026. A fresh distortion runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.

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